Outboard work whipping inhibitor for centerless grinders



W. HORBERG April 27, 1948.

OUTBOARD WORK WHIPPING INHIBITOR FOR CENTERLESS GRINDERS 2 Sheets-Sheef 1 Filed April 17, 1946 ATTORNEY April 27, 1948. O B RG 2,440,402

OUTBOARD WORK WHIPPING INHIBITOR FOR 'CENTERLESS GRINDERS Filed April 17, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENITOR wi /Elana Patented Apr. 27, 1948 UNIT ED OUTBOARDWORK wmprmdimmnl'ilflh EOECENTERLESQGEMEBS? will amnonberg, firid snh iflo h- ApplicatiomAprilTY, 1946;;Serial:tNon662i85l;

'll Glai s.

1 This invention relatestoa methodgoi-jnhibiting whipping of a long slender work-.piece-thatlex- The: present improvements furth method.

1- beset un in:thegrindinghfichine forv cooperation work piece t-=d ing-. e ths-and, diame. .ersl i Iii- 15 a, ,partiqulanobject .of. the pliesent inn proyements to providea whippinginhibitorwhich at tha beginning of, the. grinding loperation not 1'1 stead h :WQl e ei houtiobst u freedona-tmbe lowered astits size becomes decreased tb3 grinding :butin which, at. the con- What mayibeltermedsthe grinding throatpi a, clusion-oirsii i e 'e on. the mmesiM conventional; centerless grinding: L 3 workireceiving space embraced tbetweentai g 'hdlingwheel,aworklrotatingor sizeregulatin wheel 'anda, workrest, all of:which:jointlyi-bordenupon -pl y;.- atv tynerfois ore; s s antia -I mate. supqrttf z firmer steadying or the. tworklpiecein its ..final or ,fsparking; out stage of grinding,

- Th se-a d; thergobiectives.wi1i;become..clear the grinding: threat in :positions to afford tiiree 15:i grcater;particular,fron tne1fo11owin descri point: constraintior theft periphery-mfg the; work :piece that .islbeingi reducedjndiameter; by cen- 'terless grinding When the .worktpiecfikcompi'ises a long. and:comparatively.v slender; "rod,;,shaft; or

spindle that-.:proje.cts somedistance l-x relation. to the entrance; ofthe g,=rindi n ;;throatf 'theiaforementionedthree-point cohstmint ofithe workpiece within the grinding throat isnot-syfiicient' to preventavibrations:Whichpan deflectgthe outboard portionlof thBJWOIfkUPiGGQ:away-frflmt true alignment with: itsaxis. of: rotation; When i 1 this; occurs, centrifugal'force wilhpro nptl; ment .the Y initially slight; deflections; (tithe: Outhoardaportioniof: theyworhpiecicxand etup a .whippingiactionofthelatter; This often disturbs 5 p; outboard end offthework.piece shown positioned w that portion ,of: the Work 'piecethatalies :the grinding throat tosuch extent thatgrinding withi it" toaccurate shape.- and; sizeiby-"the; center-less 'grindingprocess becpmes impossible,

It: is themainobject of;rny. new method andigl dw t s ry xtu efitment-su .whip pingl action of the; work; piece; by; haflling initiahdeflections; thereof before, they-can-be augmerited by-centriiugal force or by .reson an :e or

i become harmiullyreactive; upon, that portion, 01:,

- the: work, piece that ishting ground. 7

- Afurtherobjectjsto providflrns'accessormfixtur'e detachably usablew-ith a; conventional centerlessgrinding machine-which will steady the outboard portion of a:- worki-piecewithout hflfl iering with, its: bodily lowering 7 in the; grinding throat of the machine as its diameter becomes reduced; in. the grinding. Process marine s tion 'of my improved;- nrethod, anioifan apparat stb y ich. t e; methoi y. pra t e which: esc i-ntion ie ence ishauto theappen eddr win where n:

Fi 1. is aneleV i mQ LtM fr nt rworkmeivina i e; oi. a q onvsnti nal: enter ess. rin

. inamachinel.eqi i neiwithm mprov di 01 oa dfixture fe wl nhihitin .whi p n -Qt. he wor liigg 2 isanaisomet c c1 r n iew orthewhipr ins al ed 1n uth .d. e i n ng n entrance tothe. erindina r at; o e m hlna. ,L ,3. isv a. plany 'ewhi thepa s s own i B 4 R a -ia rpnt y fiWJQQlEinQhhfiE- 3J mmt a astat h t me at b inni its. rind n k igi 5is afraem ntar 1cw takenin eptio v.tl e'pltaeru'as 5 '.i,,iii fig.,,4.1QOk ng in the direction offltnearrows.

, Fie-fi ismnlar edrraeme am ie ta po tion of the structure in Fig. 4 explanative of the tunctioninasetmp of ewhi i einhib s\ i hVhtiQn j nt wa e less. ind m .li h wsamathin ase. 2' 1. which s' idabl sunno teda. arria e; th ea inja or. a n w d ive Work a ords rot-am .reg l ina heel 'l twhi h by. l ck s ati .o atesrthetw rk i c I, 6 icounte clochw se in Fig.

i e s;shi.ita eo. onw y. whe l 0 toward -the, .1,eit in .F.'ig 1.. for thru t n work... ie e; I8

against then a din whee I 5; heJa t r. is

A. further; object is; to provide. su h. fixture; in

- a.simp1e form; that: can be applied -remoyahly. to-g ascenterlessgrinder. in outboard, relationtqits grinding throat and that incorporates. acapacity fbr adjust-ive shiftingflfig ts'bodily position-aszw --Ga age lrisiadiustahletowarq the right and as for independent: 9Ldj1 iV*Shift,in ot-comle ttintEiai, alonggways l am medonaslabr ponent-partsofithe fixture,- to enablefthesametw 5 *li a l d m w th also. s ia i sta ly;

the-grinding throat. whipping will be explained in greater detail by 20. An adjustment holding board portion of the the aforementioned whipping action.

tioned at the grinding throat of the machine the usual work rest 20 supported on a rigid machine standard mounted to be slidably adjustable forward and backward crosswise of slide l9. Work rest 20 has a top edge sloping downward toward regulating wheel 10.. Carriage l4 may be fastened in any chosen position along ways I8 in relation to slide l9 by one or more of the usual gib tightening screw handles 22. Also slide I9, itself, is adjustable along ways 25 formed on machine base l2 and may be fastened in any chosen positions therealong by one or more separate gib tightening screw handles 26.

A long and more or less slender rod, shaft or spindle it may comprise a work piece to be ground and is shown to project somedistance forward in outboard relation to the entrance to the grinding throat. That portion of work piece If; that is within the grinding throat, while being rotated and ground, derives three-point constraint from work rest and grinding wheel l which jointly border upon and define the grinding throat. Despite this adequate support for the work spindle within the grinding throat, high speed rotation of a long and slender work piece such as IE5 can cause that portion of the work piece which remains in. outboard relation to the grinding throat to vibrate sufiiciently to be deflected from true alignment with its axis of rotation. When'this occurs centrifugal force will augment the initially slight deflections of the work piece and will set up a whipping action of the latter which so disturbs that portion of the work piece within the grinding throat that its accurate shaping or sizing becomes impossible.

I have discovered that this troublesome cause of work spoilage canbe'avoided in a very simple manner. In my new method in the early stages of the grinding operation there is presented to only the downward revolving side of the original periphery of the work piece outside of the grinding throata firm stationary slanting guide surface that can be tracked or contacted continuously by said periphery while the rotating work piece becomes obliquely lowered in the troughlike grinding throat owing to its diminishing size. -Such guide surface is disposed in critical angular relationship to the degree of slope of the aforesaid top edge or seat of the work rest in This method of inhibiting reference to one successful form of my adjustable outboard work guiding fixture illustrated in Figs. 2. to 6, inclusive, and designated as a whole by 29. I

The mounting base 30 of fixture 29 comprises a horizontal metal slab containing the elongated slot 3| through which freely extends the shank of a fastener in the form of clampbolt 32 that threads into the standard 2| of the work rest clamp bolt 33 threads into the front edge of base 30 and extends freely through an elongated slot 34 in the thick rigid upstanding work guiding plate 35 Whose slanting edge 35 alone contacts with the work in an outlatter and steadies it against A separately adjustable auxiliary outboard work guiding surface 31 comprises onev edge of a shouldered block 38 that slants oppositely to edge 36 and. can adjustably be stationed to be contacted by the work only at the conclusion of the size reducing grinding of the latter, or during what is commonly referred to as the spark- 20, regulating wheel l0 ing on or final stage of work rotation. Block 33 rests slidably on the top edge 39 of plate 35 and in part overlaps the latter. Block 38 is shown to be composed of an apron section and a rider section welded together. It could as well constitute an integral piece and will be fastened firmly in any chosen position along plate edge 29 by the clamp bolt 40 that extends freely through elongated slot 4| in block 38 and threads into plate 35'. I

Whereas block 38 is confined to adjustive movement in a straight direction parallel with plate edge 39, plate 35 is free to be adjusted about its holding screw 33 pivotally when the 1atter is loosened, as well as sh'fted horizontally toward the right and left in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. This permitsthe'degree of slope of plate edge 31 to be set atvarious angles with respect to work rests whose top edges such as 2| have different degrees of inclination. The angular set-up of plate 35 can also be made to suit work pieces of different' diameters.

n For more easily executing a fine control over the adjustive shifting of plate 35 while it is being moved toward the right into contact with a test work piece such as 15, a thumb screw 45 is provided having threaded engagement with a spur bracket 46 that is secured on base 30 by screws 41 threading into the latter. For correspondingly fine control of the adjustive shifting of block 38 while moving the latter initially toward the left into desired proximity to the test work piece, a thumb screw 48 is provided having threaded engagement with a spur bracket 49 secured on plate 35 by screws 50 threading into the latter.

The function and manner of use of the fixture 29 will have become largely apparent from the foregoing description. A centerless grinding machine utilizing the same will first be set up in the usual way with regard at first only to the proper relationship of grinding wheel, regulating wheel and Work rest required by the initial and ultimate diameters of the work piece to be ground. If at the beginning of the grinding operation the workpiece must protrude forward from the entrance to the grinding throat to a considerable extent in proportion to its cross sectional size and strength, the base 30 of my whipping inhibitor will be firmly stationed on the top surface of work rest standard 21 by means of bolt 32. With an unground sample of the work piece It resting correctly in the grinding throat as at the beginning of its grinding process and thereby serving as a position gauge, plate 35 will be placed so that its edge 36 just contacts such work piece while sloping at an angle that is preferably parallel with a diametrical line D passingthrough and bisecting the angle L formed by a projected straight line R, that is-coincident with the slope of the top edge of work rest 20, and another projected line T that is in' a plane tangent to the periphery of the regulating wheel I'll at its point of contact with work piece I6;

Thumb screw 45 will afford fine control of plate edge'36 as it is pushed toward'the right until it just contacts the test work piece l6.

After correct operating position of plate 35 has been attained by the aforesaid adjusting operation, clamp bolt 33 will be tightly set up tc secure the plate firmly in place. At this time the supplemental work guiding surface 31 on blocli 5 38; remains well withdrawn from the work piece toward the right. 'The" machine. may now b( started and a grinding operation'performed o1 1 the I work -pieceisuch asis-toIberepeatedin: quantity production, after which the ,grindingwill be allowed'to spark;-;outli It 1 wilLnow be found lh-ine-the axis of rotation A of thework piecethas ropped a'littl in, a slanting direction along line D 'into the-position 'Ai' During this bodily lowering of thework pibe theiundimifiished periphery I its oiitboa'r d pr-tionwha's gradually tracked along 7 guide iedge Mir-while remaining in contact therewith i ntil it comesto occiipyrthe position ;Block 38 willmdwbe adjustedtoward. the left ith the work piece. This canbe. done under ery =fine-control if .1 desired,.by:. turning thumb ----screw4'8 to 'push the block 38 toward the left. This adjustment of block 38 insuresthat at the ------conclusion of the size" reducing grinding of the work piece,-and during its isparking out rota- ---'--tion, the outboardendof theworkpiece will be -supported andsteadiedin theiurcate rest of V- formation that is formed jointly by both the .work guiding-surfaces 36-and 31.. J When once ,set up =-for the-above 'described controlof a test work piece of given--size, any quantity of additional work'pieces of that particular size may be ground --with the advantageous aidof my improved whipping inhibitor without further adjustment of the "latterr It has been found that this inhibits all tendency of the rapidly rotating outboard portion of theworkpiece to disturb the designed alignment, true round grinding and accuratesizing of the portion of thework piece that. is within the grinding throat. I have found it advantageous to set the.plate 35 forwardfrom the entrance of the ,I. and ar ia qui e i a grinding throat toa distance: about equalto twothirds of the outboard length of the work piece that projects from the grinding throat.

The regulating wheel [0 in Fig. 3 is shown skewed in a well understood way for automatically drawing the work piece lengthwise progressively into the grinding throat as it is being ground. In such case the outboard end portion of the work piece that is being steadied by the whipping inhibitor 29 is free to travel lengthwise across the plate 35'while rotating in constant contact with guiding edge 36 of the latter.

I may also station and use another fixture like 29 positioned as fixture 29 is positioned and used, except offset toward the rear from the discharge end of the grinding throat, viz. that end which appears at the extreme right in Fig. 2 and at the extreme top in Fig. 3. Such other fixture may be used concurrently with or may be used without fixture 29 and will be set up to engage with and steady the leading end of an elongated work piece as it proceeds outward from the grinding throat in the same manner that fixture 29 engages with and steadies the trailing end of such work piece as it approaches the grinding throat.

It will be appreciated that the mechanical principles underlying this invention can be embodied in a wide variety of specific shapes and constructions of fixtures that might be employed in outboard relation to the grinding throat of a centerless grinding machine, wherefore the appended claims are directed to and intended to cover all substitutes and equivalents for the precise shapes and arrangements of parts herein disclosed that fall fairly within the broadest interpretation of the claim language.

I claim:

1. In a centerless grinding machine, the com- ,.,wa d sa d we: l ompr n afino i lsss astee gr s e di dire ti n-g .1 -.;2-. n a c nt r ss indin 1.0..

'tactwith lyin sai e ind n until auxiliary gliide surface .srjust contacts binationof a power drivenwo I a m t l s Wor 1. lat o t said .1 I e-.a nr ma f l nsa e aw i Pi ftrou hlike g r'jirialiigghaa psraaegtyia under- .outb d; rel t on. Oi s idlili d fi' h slope than said workrst in a niboma ing heel achin inat qno a-newsrd v k flanking said grinding th ar nd-n9 ier 1 git-3.; -111 a ce treles s ie g tli'wlii pping im 'la p tr y Qwithin I} 17h i prising in combination'with a downward sloping seat on said work rest adapted to be tracked by the work piece periphery as the latter is progressively diminished in diameter by centerless grinding within said throat whereby the axis of the work piece traverses a path converging in respect to said sloping work rest seat, a machine standard rigid with said seat extending into outboard relation to said grinding throat, and a work steadying abutment rigid with said standard having a stationary work guiding surface positioned to contact with and be tracked by the undiminishing periphery of the work piece outside said throat, said guiding surface being parallel with said path traversed by the axis of the work piece.

5. In a centerless grinding machine having a troughlike grinding throat bordered by an underlying work rest, whipping inhibiting means as defined in claim 4, in which the said abutment comprises an upright plate having a horizontal slot therein, together with a mounting base fixed to said standard equipped with a plate orienting projection occupying said horizontal slot.

6. In a centerless grinding machine having a troughlike grinding throat bordered by an underlying work rest, whipping inhibiting means as defined in claim 4, together with a releasable fastener holding the said abutment in fixed relation to said standard in a manner permitting the said work guiding surface to be adjustably swung relatively to the said sloping seat of the work rest in a plane crosswise the said work piece thereby to determine and vary the slope of said surface.

7. In a centerless grinding machine having a troughlike grinding throat bordered by an underl gwork e trme nfi .defined in claim 4, in-which the said abutment comprises an upright "plate having a horizontal slot therein, together with a mounting base fixed to said standard, and a releasable fastener on said base occupying said slot and holding said abutment in fixed rel tion to said base in a manner permitting the said work guiding surface to be adjustably swung relatively to the 'said'sloping seat of the work rest in a plane crosswise said work piece thereby to determine and vary the slope of said surface.

8. The method of inhibiting whipping by the outboard portion of an elongated work piece while the work piece rotates in the tapered trough-like throat of a centerless grinding machine and tracks along the sloping seat of a work rest therein, which consists in blocking against lateral deflection in only one direction the non-ground revolving periphery of said work piece outside said grinding throat along the precise line of progressive advance of said periphery occasioned by the tracking of the work piece along said sloping seat of thework rest while said axis of the work piece remains exactly parallel with its original position.

9. The method of inhibiting whipping by the outboard portion of an elongated work piece while the work piece rotates in the tapered trough-like throat of a centerless grinding machine and tracks along the sloping seat of a work rest therein, which consists in blocking against lateral defiection in only one direction the non-ground revolving periphery of said work piece outside said grinding throat along the precise line of progressive advance of said periphery occasioned by the tracking of the work piece along said sloping seat of the work rest while said axis of the work piece remains exactly parallel with its original seat tracking direction of movement surface motionless in fixed and ultimately blocking the outboard the work piece against deflection in its during the sparking out period ofthe grinding operation.

10. A whipping inhibitor for steadying long work pieces in a centerless grinding machine having a grinding throat bordered by a work rest, comprising in combination, a work guiding surface adapted to be stationed in outboard relation to said grinding throat in a position to be trackable by the'outboard periphery of a work piece rotating on said rest while being ground, means constructed and arranged to hold said guiding relation to said work rest, a supplementary work engaging surface adjustably movable in relation to, said work steadying surface and stationable in outboard relation to said grinding throat in a position to be reached and contacted by the said work piece after the latter has tracked along said guiding surface, and supplementary means constructed and arranged position. portion of releasably to hold said supplementary surface motionless in fixed'relation to said guiding surface.

11. A whipping inhibitor as defined in claim 10, in which the said supplementary holding means includes a releasable fastener permitting the said supplementary work steadying surface to be adjustably shifted withrespect to the said work guiding surface.

WILLIAM HORIBER'G.

' REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Booth July 14, 1931 Number 

